Regarding this whole issue of identity, I want to first of all remind yourselves that one of the signs of these end times is all this confusion about who am I? Am I Muslim? Am I a British Muslim? Am I an American? Etc, etc. In all these potentially philosophical discussions, it is very easy for the lines to become blurred. However, realistically speaking, there is not as much confusion about this whole identity issue as it is made out to be. As for what you are:

If you believe in the Articles of Faith then you are a Muslim. Pure and simple.

There is no such thing as a TYPE of Muslim: there is only one type. Terms like British Muslim, American Muslim, etc are just to indicate where a Muslim lives in the world. If you moved from Pakistan (or India/Bangladesh/Arabia/Syria/Malaiysia/etc), then you have Pakistani origins, Pakistani culture but you are a British citizen. You are both a Pakistani Muslim AND a British Muslim. There is not necessarily any antagonism between these two expressions of identity, despite cries to the contrary. If you were born and raised up here by immigrant parents, then again you are British but you do have Pakistani (or whatever countries') roots and origins.

In terms of what culture you follow and adhere to, you will likely fall into these three categories:

1. The British culture and have, as a result, distanced yourself from Islam.
2. The Pakistani culture and have also, as a result, distanced yourself from Islam although no way near
   as much as the previous category. I say that you have distanced yourself from Islam only because
   there are a SMALL NUMBER of un-Islamic elements prevalent in Pakistani culture.
3. You have taken the safest path i.e. the middle one. You have followed and allowed yourself to be
   instilled with all of the many (only) Islamic elements in Pakistani culture but you have also followed
   British (American/European/Russian/Australian/etc) patterns of conduct that do not go against the
   Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Beloved (sallallahu alaihi wa aalihi wa sallam) and that are obviously
   beneficial. You take the goodness from British culture and leave the rest because despite previous
   pre-conceived (and partly racist) notions, not everything in British culture is bad.

I would like to caution brothers and sisters, also, not to get caught up in this whole 'search for identity' game. This is a secular tool to confuse your minds with irrelevant and ultimately misguiding concepts and labels. I say, again, do not get caught up in this business. If someone asks you what kind of Muslim are you, say: there is only one type of Muslim. If someone asks you to describe the type of person you are THEN you can say: "I am a Muslim, with Pakistani roots and am now a citizen of Great Britain, etc." If people persist in asking you to 'label' yourself then insist politely but firmly that (for me, for example) "I am a Muslim and a British citizen. THAT'S MY IDENTITY." Period.

When people ask these questions the intention is likely to trap you and cause fitnah within the Muslim communities and break them up or cause them to fight with one another, e.g. "why did you say you were a British Muslim?" and so-and-so. One of the signs of the Dajjal and his system is the proliferation of intellectual confusion whereby concepts, ideas and labels are thrown around resulting in people becoming uncertain about who they are and what they are. To use a slang phrase: "they wanna mess with your mind!" The nature of Dajjal and his system that we live in today is to confuse you and this whole 'search for identity' topic is just one of the tools of the system, have no doubt about it. It is very effective at sowing discord and confusion in the minds of vulnerable and weak-faithed people and within communities. You have been warned.

Protect yourselves from these needless and irrelevant matters, clarify these issues in your minds and the minds of others (Muslim and non-Muslim) and just stay focused on our real goals: To practice the Deen, implement it in your own lives and in your own homes and then to spread it to others.

Fi amaan Allah

Tauseef Naqshbandi

www.tauseefswritings.com

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